Trump threatens to ‘permanently’ shut down border with Mexico

President Donald Trump has called on Mexico to deport Central American migrants attempting to reach the United States, while threatening to “permanently” shut down the southern border.

Repeating his claim that many of the migrants are “stone cold criminals,” Trump demanded Monday that Mexico send the migrants back to countries such as Guatemala and Honduras by airplane, bus, or “anyway you want.”

The tweet comes amid tensions at the southern border where US Customs and Border Protection officials fired tear gas on hundreds of migrants near San Diego on Sunday.

The clashes prompted US officials to close the San Ysidro Port of Entry between San Diego and Tijuana for more than six hours.

Tensions flared further when dozens of migrants broke away from a larger group to try and cross the border.

Images quickly began to circulate on Twitter showing women and children fleeing the tear gas.

Some migrants, meanwhile, said they would attempt to cross over illegally after they were denied access at the port of entry, where they could claim asylum legally.

Hundreds of migrants, fleeing violence and poverty in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, have been waiting in Tijuana, Mexico, to get to the United States.

President Trump has repeatedly claimed that the migrant caravan is filled with “criminals” and “thugs,” and has insisted they should wait in Mexico until their asylum claims are processed by US officials. Critics say it could never happen.

Trump has previously deployed thousands of troops to the southern border in anticipation of the migrants and signed a proclamation blocking certain immigrants from claiming asylum.